Rule#1 for new coaches

[YOCOACH]

I can honestly say that's one advantage of being a rec coach. I CAN'T cut anyone...LOL But I certainly understand where you're coming from. I'm glad I get to turn over the reigns of DD's future FP development to people such as yourselves. KUDOS to all of you for taking on such a huge responsibilty On the other hand, I'm not looking forward to "learning" all of the parent rules this season. Good Luck to all of you and your teams!

 

[crystlemc]

Not much in the way of parent rules...

1. DO NOT coach your kid from the sideline!!! (Unless asked, of course) You entrusted them to that particular coach for a reason.

2. Do your homework before you sign to a team. You don't want to get a few weeks into it and find out that the coach doesn't know their you-know-what from a hole in the ground.

3. Cheer for all the girls, not just yours.

4. Do not grumble or complain with the other parents on the sidelines. If you have an actual issue, address it privately with the coach at least 24 hours after the game or practice.

5. Get your kid to practice or games on time. Preferably early, if possible.

6. Enjoy her enjoying herself. Say nothing negative on the ride home. She most likely already knows.

 

[YOCOACH]

Thanks again crystlemc! When we finally meet on the fields I owe you a beer after!

 

[Momo'sDad]

don't give out awards!!!!

My players love the fact that it's possible to earn awards.

 

[Greenmonsters]

The something does not bring what you call angst, some people do, just like in all parts of life. Women in softball (and I know a few) plus kids tell me all the time about certain coaches and parents who are downright impossible to play ball around. Sorry but most are men, although the personality type is not gender related.

I am not involved in softball, except that I teach lessons and watch softball. Geez. Why so cranky?

If we followed your advice, women/girls would not have started and played on sports teams, because the struggle to do so gave us angst. Angst is actually what brings progress and change. I am not sure why travel softball coaching is a field where women have to struggle to be involved, but it is. And the men resist it and get cranky and tell us it is our fault, we should quit.

And yes it is a mission to get women into their own sport and some of the negative adult behavior out (which is why the women leave or don't coach), because it is not how it should be played.

I wholly agree that gender should have no bearing. Yet, you always seem to try and make it about gender. I've seen good and bad coaches - what I've noticed is that most of both are male, which makes sense because there are far more male than female coaches. IMO, gender has nothing to do with coaching ability as I've also seen good and bad female coaches. A similar argument can be made about parents. Not unlike today's business world, FP coaching currently is male dominated, probably even more so at the younger levels. In either, to be successfull as a female, you have to recognize that fact and work to change it. And, unfortunately, as a female, you probably have to work harder at than your male counterparts to overcome historical misconceptions. Incessantly complaining about it isnt productive and generally yields resentment rather than sympathy or empathy. For the record, I have 2 DDs and 1 DS, I tell them that the only real limits they have with respect to what they want to do or become are those they impose on themselves. Sometimes that means trying to swim upstream, but it's a helluva lot easier to do today than it was 25 years ago. Hopefully the same can be said 25 years from today.

 

[jimharshaw]

I generally agree. You're a professional. Keep it professional.

 

[02Crush]

On the advice of another coach when I converted over to travel ball we created a code of ethics for the parents to sign. It detailed our expectations of the parents and family members on the sidelines. There are things that would earn you a warning, Things that would earn you a one way ticket off the team. Examples of the warnings were coaching up from the sidelines, specifically naming and calling out other players in front of parents and team members and things like this. The drop dead infractions were multiple bad attitude occurrences, drug and alcohol abuse and use on the sidelines of practices and games and others like this. I felt that being this open in my expectations meant I should be more open to the parents should they have an issue to discuss. This led to "hovering" after every practice and tournament and between all games. I had to use this at some points and it was not fun but glad I put it in writing. I also now do not allow time to discuss things after games and practices. If they need to they can email me and we can talk on the phone or meet just not in those moments.